Vietnam rolls out vaccination campaign after successful Covid-19 management
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Mar 8 (efe-epa).- Vietnam launched its vaccination program against Covid-19 on Monday with the inoculation of health workers with first shots manufactured by British-Swedish pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca, after having successfully managed the pandemic.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Health on its website, more than a thousand workers at the Hospitals for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), Hanoi and Hai Duong received their doses since the morning.
Vietnam has been recognized as one of those countries that have most successfully managed the pandemic so far, with just 2,512 total infections, including 35 deaths.
The country with a population of 96 million has contained multiple outbreaks that have occurred over the last one year thanks to measures such as the closure of borders to tourism and the effectiveness of its teams of trackers.
The outbreak with the most cases occurred in late January, with more than 700 infections in the city of Hai Duong, which allowed the virus to reach other areas, including the capital, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City – the most populous urban area – and regions of the country, without registering any death so far.
The current vaccination campaign follows the arrival of the first 117,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, while another 150 million doses – including from other companies – will be added in the coming months.
In addition to those purchased from other countries, Vietnam has been developing two vaccines of its own that are expected to be available by the end of the year.
The Communist regime in Hanoi has not provided details of its vaccination plan, which is expected to prioritize the inoculation of policemen, soldiers, diplomats, teachers and people over 65 years of age, besides health workers. EFE-EPA
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